The Shadows Rising
by General Alastor Azimuth
Summary: Shikamaru went to great lengths to avoid reaching his potential. But What if he met someone who opened his eyes and trained him to grow strong to protect his loved ones? He will protect his world and village with his last breath and soon his enemies will learn why they should fear he who walks the shadows.
1. Chapter 1

**The Shadows Rising**

 **Hello everyone,**

 **This is my first story ever so I would appreciate feedback. It starts slow, but hopefully I'll be able to speed up the pace as the story continues.**

 **Keywords:**

"Stay determined": Normal Speech

" **Fire style": Jutsu, loud speech, summons and buji speech and weapons' names**

" _Why can't they just leave me alone": Thought, telepathy and flashbacks._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**

 **Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful morning in Konoha the birds singing on tree branches, the sun shining high in the sky and the fallen leaves twirling in the breeze. Around the entire village the signs of a peaceful morning prevail. Unfortunately, that was not the case in the Nara compound.

In the Nara head house the 6 year old Shikamaru Nara was sleeping peacefully in his room having a dream about living in a world with no troublesome women. That was until he was rudely awakened by the banshee like morning calls of the Nara matriarch Yoshino Nara saying: "Shikamaru you good for nothing son get your lazy ass out of the damn bed".

Shikamaru's pov

I grumbled as I woke up to the yelling of the troublesome women I called mother. Muttering "Troublesome" as I crawled out of the confines of my bed. Recently, I have joined the ninja academy to learn how to be a shinobi of the leaf as it was expected since I was the heir of the Nara clan. I have always wanted to be an average ninja and marry an average woman and have two kids the first a boy and the second a girl then get retired after my son finds a good job and my daughter gets married and then play shogi to the end of my days and die before my wife.

As I started wearing my clothes my mind wandered back to an event that happened 3 years ago.

 _Flashback starts_

 _A 3 years old shikamaru was just returning from having a nap in the Nara forest when he heard his father Shikaku Nara being scolded by his wife. "I still wonder why he married a troublesome woman such as mum" he sighed. Then, he noticed the door to his father's office opened. He entered and gaped at the amount of scrolls and books littering the place, but he should have expected it since he gets his laziness from his father. Some of his father's military briefs got his attention so he starting reading them. Usually, any normal 3 year old wouldn't understand what the hell was written in those briefs, but shikamaru has always realized that he was smarter than normal kids. He didn't know how long he's been reading, but when he took his eyes away from the briefs he saw his father gaping like a fish at him. "What" Shikamaru asked irritably._

 _Flashback ends_

From that moment my dad figured out I was gifted and made me take an IQ test secretly so I don't attract unwanted attention. To his utter shock the test results came back and they were off the charts as I scored over 200. My father then started helping me in honing my skill and developing it either by giving me war scenarios to find a solution for or games of shogi which I mostly preferred including other ways. At first, I was really interested and absorbed everything my dad taught me like a sponge, but as I grew older my prospective changed so I stopped studying with the excuse of it being troublesome.

I got out of my room and went to the kitchen to see my mum scolding my dad about chugging his sake. Rolling my eyes I muttered a lazy morning and sat on my chair. "Eat your breakfast then we'll play a round of shogi" I grimaced at the mention of my mum's cooking. "Listen here punk you're going to eat your food and you're gonna like it then you aren't playing shogi with my good for nothing husband you'll do your chores then I bought you some books that you're going to read" "It's too troublesome to read and I don't have academy today" "Shikamaru you have the potential to the best shinobi the village has seen in years, but instead training and studying you prefer to watch the clouds and do nothing like your father, sometimes I wonder why do I even bother with you."

My eyes widened at that last sentence my mum has always given me shit about my hesitance to train, but this was the first time she said it directly. My eyes hardened when I felt a certain emotion radiating from mum. Disappointment an emotion I loathed and hated my entire life. Without warning I pushed myself out of my chair letting it clatter to the floor and shouted "I've had enough for 3 years you've given me shit about my intelligence and my lack of motivation I don't care if I can be the best ninja this village has seen or not this is my life and I choose to live it the way I want to not the way you'd want". I took of leaving the house saying that I need time to cool off then I started running into the Nara forest as fast as I can without looking back.

Normal pov

Silence reined over the Nara household as the situation played out and shikamaru left. Shikaku had a concerned frown on his face and Yoshino had her eyes full to the brim with tears realizing her mistake. She rushed to follow her son, but her husband stopped her "Give him time" he said. She collapsed into his arms and started crying her eyes out wanting nothing more than her son in her arms to hold as tightly as she can. Shikaku wasn't any better as he was concerned about the wellbeing of his son, but he kept telling himself that his son needed time.

Shikamaru kept on running even though he felt like giving out any time soon, but his mind was a raging storm of thoughts and ideas. Finally his legs gave out and tears started falling freely from his eyes as he focused about what happened in his house. He has always used the excuse of training being troublesome to hide the true reason behind his hesitance to training. Sometime after discovering he was a genius he was researching in the archives about previous prodigies in the leaf feeling curious to how it feels to be a prodigy. Let's just say what he found out wasn't very pleasing. First was Konoha's copy ninja who lost his entire team and almost lost it to madness. Then, there was Itachi Uchiha who has slaughtered his entire clan except his younger brother in the excuse of testing out his strength and it was a product of burdening him with responsibilities and pushing past his mental limits. Later on he started wondering was that what it is be a prodigy and suddenly he didn't want to be a genius anymore. He started thinking of an excuse so he wouldn't disappoint his parents and came up with his famous excuse.

Shikamaru's personal enemy has always been disappointment as it was one of his many reasons to not train. It is a simple concept really when you become a prodigy people put high expectations on you, but if you fail to deliver you'll be met with nothing but disappointment and scorn so it was easy for him to understand these concepts form a young age.

"Why can't they just leave me alone" was his final thought before regaining his breath and composing his self. He tried to see where he ventured into the forest as he has never been this deep. Everybody in Konoha knew not to venture into Nara clan forest if you aren't a member of said clan. He tried a tracking his footsteps, but it proved for naught so he just continued moving forward. After a while the tree line broke and he arrived to what looked like a clearing with a giant tree in its center.

It appeared that he was just outside the border of the village. As shikamaru was busy analyzing the situation he almost didn't hear the growl that came from the tree. Keyword here almost. He slowly turned to the tree and immediately regretted it exiting a hole in the tree was a 8 feet tall bear with black fur and a scar over his right eye. The bear's eyes burned a hole into his own promising nothing but a slow agonizing death. Shikamaru's mind was moving a million miles an hour trying to find a solution for this problem. Finally, he decided that running was the best option since the bear was bulky and looked extremely heavy so he may has a chance to outrun it. He put everything he had into his legs then ran faster than he did in his entire life and the bear gave chase. At first, it appeared to be working and his heart filled with hope but slowly the bear started catching up and for one dreadful moment lost his concentration and tripped on a vine and his head hit a stone.

As he started struggling to stand up with a bleeding head he saw the bear circling him like a predator wanting to toy with its prey. He sighed and closed his eyes as he felt his consciousness slip away and resigned himself to his fate and waited for the killing blow to come. Surprisingly, it never came as he opened his eyes he saw a man holding a sword that was prodding out of the bear's neck. He couldn't really see the man accurately as his vision started to get bleary. The last thing he saw were a pair of yellow reptilian eyes staring at him then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Shadows Rising**

 **Keywords:**

"Be strong": Normal speech

" **Lightening style": Jutsu, loud speech, summons and buji speech and weapons' names**

" _How is he moving that fast": Thoughts, telepathy and flashbacks_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters**

 **Chapter 2**

Orochimaru's pov

The village hidden in the leaf the place I once called home and the place I hated for years. It has been years since that old idiot Hiruzen banished me from the village and I became a missing ninja. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

 _Flashback starts_

 _Orochimaru was in his secret lab working on his immortality jutsu by over going a surgical experiment on a dead leaf shinobi he killed previously that day when his sensei and 2 ANBU members rushed into his lab. "So I've finally been found out oh such a pity" he chuckled. "Orochimaru explain you're self immediately, what is the meaning of this" Hiruzen said. "And after I set all those bobby traps to give me plenty of warning I wasn't expecting you I should have known you'd get past anything" he chuckled. "A steady number of people has started going missing from the village: genin, chunin, jounin even ANBU members many who have been seen lastly with you and you've been acting rather strange really" "You the superior shinobi how could have you done such a thing" said the ANBU members. "Then I should kill you as well". "Then you really did it so it is all your doing Orochimaru, but why, what exactly are you up to in here". "It's research I'm developing jutsu" "It's forbidden jutsu isn't it, just what is it you want" "I want everything" "Everything what exactly" "I want to know every jutsu in world even those who are yet to be discovered, just like the man who mixed the color blue and yellow to form the color green, but in my case the blue is chakra and the yellow is a hand sign then the green is a new jutsu and like there's countless shades of colors in the world, there must be an almost limitless number of jutsu to find them, to unlock the truth long hidden from mortal eyes, it leads to endless experimentations ultimately the truth reveals itself only to one who proves himself worthy and willing to sacrifice years from his life, but alas I discovered there isn't enough years in even the longest life, one day I would die and it'll be the end of it". "Orochimaru what kind of forbidden jutsu you have seeking here". "Oh I think you already guessed eternal youth and immortality"_

 _There was stalemate between both sides as silence reined. "What are you planning to do? Kill me sensei" said Orochimaru with a crazed look in his eyes. Hiruzen bit his thumb and used_ **"Ninja art: Summoning jutsu"** _to summon the monkey king Enma. "But can you go with it I wonder Sarutobi sensei" said Orochimaru then he flared his chakra knocking out the ANBU members and appeared behind the third hokage. "Kill him Sarutobi now is your chance" shouted Enma. They stood in silence none of them doing anything then Orochimaru took off running to escape the village._

 _Flashback_ _ends_

From there it was smooth sailing out of the village except for the Hatake brat who had the audacity to think that he and his dogs can actually stop me even if I was injured. Since then I've been travelling to different villages doing experiments, collecting different Kekkei Genkai and discovering secrets. It was like that for a while until my spies told about an organization that was recruiting members. The organization's name was Akatsuki and their goal was to capture all the tailed beasts, but that wasn't the really interesting part. The really interesting part was that some of the current members have some of the most rare and powerful Kekkei Genkai in particular the sharingan and rinnengan. The Akatsuki has some of the most powerful S-rank ninja and joining them allowed me a chance to acquire their doujutsu. So I planned accordingly and intercepted their leader and one of their members who goes by the name Sasori of the red sand. After I fought Sasori and tried a sneak attack on the Akatsuki leader whose name was Pein to snatch his eyes. Pein unleashed a devastating shockwave that reformed the entire landscape and knocked the air out of me.

After showing my interest in the Akatsuki he allowed me to join the organization and I stayed with them for a few years recruiting other members and capturing buji. Then I left after my attempts failed to acquire the sharingan. I continued my experiments on immortality and started to form my own village. Lately, I had a problem in my experiments and needed some of my old research that I left in the village after my hast escape. So I infiltrated the village using the **"Vanishing Facial Copy Technique"** to change my appearance to that of ninja I killed that morning.

I mostly kept to shadows and when I arrived at the lab's location, I used **"The Hidden Doorway Technique"** to enter through a secret door I kept for emergencies and sealed all my research in a sealing scroll. After I left I noticed for some reason that the patrols were heavy, I deduced that they must have discovered the dead body of the shinobi I killed and decided to take a risk and make my exit from the direction of the Nara forest. Most ninja stay clear from that forest as no one was crazy enough to enter it if not from said clan.

I entered the forest and started moving in the general direction I saw it end at. I didn't know how long I was running, but eventually I heard what sounded like screaming coming my way. Immediately I leaped onto one of the trees and saw a boy no older than 7 maybe 6 years old being chased by a black bear. At first, I was just going to leave the boy, but I noticed that he ties his hair in a Nara style ponytail and thought _"He must know the way out of here"._ I followed them and saw the boy on the ground with a bleeding head and the bear going for the kill. I rushed and freed the **Kusanagi sword** from my mouth then I stabbed the bear from his neck easily slitting his throat killing him instantly. I turned to find that the boy has lost consciousness and was lying on the ground and I really found the idea of killing the boy and ending his misery appealing, but I needed him to guide out of the forest. _"Oh well I'll just kill him after he gets me out of here"_ I thought.

I tended to the boy's wound by cleaning it with ointments and wrapping it with some bandages I found in the uniform I stole and waited for some time until the boy woke up. In the mean time I checked the appearance of the child. He was a little on the short side and looked like he didn't train much although he looked familiar to me. After a while the boy started to stir and slowly started to sit up. When he looked at me I was a little startled with the look in his eyes. It was so familiar and so foreign at the same time.

Shikamaru's pov

My head was pounding like a thousand drums in a parade and my entire body felt like I was just on the receiving end of one of uncle Chouja's bear hugs. I started recalling what happened _"Okay so I had a fight with mum and then ran into the forest and ended up in a clearing where I was chased by a bear and then I was saved by someone before blacking out"._ I groggily opened my eyes and started to slowly sit up while staring at my surroundings. After my vision cleared, it appeared that I was at the same place I tripped at and that my head was wrapped in bandages while in front of me sitting on the bear was the man who saved me. I took my time taking in his appearance he was fairly tall maybe as tall as my dad, his skin was pale almost completely white, he had long black hair which reached into his lower back, but what really interested were his eyes. Two reptilian yellow orbs were staring at me and it felt like staring into the eyes of a snake. He coughed before asking me in a neutral tune "Are you okay kid?" "I'm fine thank you sir and thanks for taking care of my injury, but if I may ask what's your name" I asked politely.

Orochimaru's pov

I paused a little at his question and wondered if I should give my real name or a fake. Usually kids his age can be easily fooled, but something about this kid was different. His eyes had a light in them that shone intelligence so I had to presume that he is smarter than he looks and may see that I'm lying. "My name is Orochimaru, but you can call me Orochi and what's yours" I said with false kindness.

Even though the kid tried not to show it he was still wary of me and I was actually quite impressed by him as he seemed the type to analyze things thoughtfully before responding. "My name is Shikamaru Nara and thank you for saving me from that bear". I then realized why he seemed so familiar "Are you by any chance the son of the Jounin Commander Shikaku Nara". I detected a hint of annoyance in his eyes as he sighed and nodded, I asked "Is something bothering you?" "Don't get me wrong I'm proud that my dad is a known and strong ninja and that he has an important role in the village and I was never really ashamed of being his son, but it really pisses me off when people only acknowledge and know me because of my father, it's like the only reason they give me the light of day is because of my father and not of who I am".

I needed all my training in self-control and discipline not to show my shock to the kid as from my experience kids his age tended to brag about their family members if they were strong or important and I don't really remember any child I met that was that mature except maybe me, a memory of Tsunada bragging about her grandfather and granduncle to their academy class flashed through my mind but a question from the kid pulled me from my musings. "If it doesn't bother you may I ask what are you doing in the forest?" I thought a little on his question "I was jutsu researching and a shady figure entered my vision so I thought it was the ninja who infiltrated the village earlier and then I followed him to the forest, but I lost track of him and ended up saving you".

"Jutsu researching?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, jutsu researching is creating brand new jutsu, merely learning a jutsu is hard enough-most shinobi only master a dozen or so jutsu, with a few more they use irregularly. Creating new jutsu requires intelligence, creativity, skill and a desire from the shinobi himself to discover the secrets and gain strength" "Secrets, what secrets?" "These secrets are the truth long hidden from mortal eyes, which leads to endless experimentations ultimately the truth reveals itself only to one who proves himself worthy and willing to sacrifice years from his life to seek it out". The child was looking at him with a look of awe and he eternally smirked.

The kid gazed at the sky "I've always wondered about the secrets of the universe, why the clouds exist in the sky- are we born in this world to complete a certain role or is it just our role to find our own purpose or should we just live life as it is and move as the wind blows-what are the secrets behind time and space, but every time I tried to find an answer only more questions emerged so I stopped trying as it proved too troublesome" and this time I couldn't hide my shock.

"How old are you exactly?" "I'm 6 years old" he answered laughing and rubbing his neck sheepishly and I now understood why that look in his eyes was so familiar, it was the same glint that I had when I was his age, that fascination with the world and the drive to discover its secrets, but his however was somewhat dimmed. "I forget to ask why are you this deep into the forest" "I had a fight with my mum and ended up here" he said with hesitance and a tinge of hurt in his eyes. "It's getting pretty late and I gave some duties, can you take me to the exit of the forest" "Yeah sure" we walked for a while and ended up in a clearing.

I was going to unsheathe the **Kusanagi sword** and end the kid right there, but something stopped me and I found myself turning towards the kid and asking "Hey do you need help to go back home" "No, I can have some of the dear take me back" the kid said smiling. "Okay, can I ask a favor" "Yeah" "Can you not tell your dad about today" "of course but why" "Well you know that the forest is restricted only to your clan members and I can get in trouble for trespassing even with a reason" "Oh alright bye and thanks again". I nodded, waved at him and moved to leave the village, but a question from the kid stopped me "Will I see you again?" I didn't know what got into me and made me say "Yeah sure meet me here again tomorrow in the morning" and I turned back to leave. The entire way to my hideout my brain was a storm _"Why did I let him live, it's not the first time I killed children and he has my name so he is a danger to me and why did I tell him I'll meet him tomorrow I don't have any business in the village"_. After hours of finding no answer I let out a scream of rage and punched a tree breaking it in half.

…..

 **This is the end of the second chapter. Don't hesitate to send your feedback and reviews.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Shadows Rising**

 **Keywords:**

"Stay focused": Normal speech

" **Dark void": Jutsu, loud speech, summons and buji speech and weapons' names**

" _What's my purpose?": Thoughts, telepathy and flashbacks_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**

 **Chapter 3**

Shikamaru's POV

I was being taken back to my house by one of the dear that residue in our forest. It has always been a belief in my clan that the dear that residue in the forest are its guardians and protectors, personally I believe it. As I continued to walk I took account of everything that happened today _"So I had a fight with mum about the same damn subject, ran into the forest, got lost, was chased after for god knows how long by a bear then got saved by Orochimaru-san"._ I paused a little at the thought of the snake eyedninja as he really intrigued me. There was something in his eyes that irked me and it was the unwavering determination for a curtain purpose. I wondered would I be like him if I had that kind of determination and when he talked about jutsu-researching he talked with sheer passion like nothing I have ever seen before.

Even though I am usually more careful around new people I actually felt relaxed when I was talking to him and it didn't bother me in the slightest to tell him about some of my personal annoyances and past dreams. The part that scares me the most is that it should. When I was smaller I usually really wondered about this world and its secrets, but I never actually found an answer. For a child that nothing came to as a struggle it really pissed me off when I didn't find an answer for something and this was one of those few subjects. At the beginning, I had this great fascination with clouds and I still do so I tried to find their meaning, purpose and why they were created in the first place then this led me to try to find the secrets of the world, but each time I thought that I have found an answer it only led to more questions. So I eventually gave up as it proved way too troublesome. His expression then was actually quite hilarious.

After I took him out of the forest and as he was leaving I didn't know what took over me and made me ask if I'll meet him again. Maybe because I was intrigued by him or for some reason I couldn't comprehend. I was relieved when he told me to meet in the clearing during the morning of the next day, but it was truly maddening why I was so interested in him. I was shook out of my thoughts when the dear that was guiding me stopped and I realized that we reached the break in the tree line that indicated that we returned to the compound. "Thank you so much for your help" I said while giving the dear a scratch for his troubles and was awarded with a friendly butt with its head. With a sigh of relief I returned to the compound and dragged myself to my house in hope to sleep in my bed and relief my brain. I opened the door and entered seeing no one. I was about to thank kami that my parents weren't home…..

…...only to be glommed by a very troublesome and teary Nara Yoshino. To say I was surprised was understatement of the year, I was goddamn bewildered. My mother has always been hotheaded, violent and to put it simply troublesome just like every woman I knew. She was always so tough and I rarely saw ever act softly, Hell I never actually saw her cry.

Normal POV

In the Nara Head house, Nara Yoshino was sitting in their kitchen with her husband waiting for their son. It has been a few hours since their son shikamaru had ran out of the house after their argument and his outburst. Yoshino had quickly realized her mistake and cried her eyes out while trying to chase after him only to be stopped by her husband telling her to give him his time to vent off. Shikaku was calm on the outside, but inside he was a raging storm of worry and was trying to convince himself that his son was safe and only needed time to cool off.

After a while she couldn't take it anymore and was going to go search for him and bring his ass home to apologize to him, hold him tight and never let him go, but her husband told her to stay in case he returned and that he was going to search for him in all his favorite places which were fortunately very numbered. In an hour, her husband returned looking disheartened saying that he looked in every place shikamaru regularly went to and even at his friend Chouji's house, but to no avail. Then, he told her that he ordered a few members of the clan to search for him around the village and into the forest and that they should wait for him to return or to get any kind of news.

For Yoshino these were the longest moments in her life and she used them to reflect on her son's life until now. The day shikamaru was born was the happiest day in her life, she remembers it just like it was yesterday.

 _Flashback starts_

 _6 years ago…..._

 _It was like any other day in Konoha, The sun was shining radiating nothing but warmth and all seemed right with the world. In the Nara Head House, a 9 months pregnant Nara Yoshino was standing in her house's kitchen washing some dishes while rubbing her swollen belly for comfort, a habit that she picked up once her stomach started showing pregnancy signs. She was humming a soft tune that she learned from her best friend Uzumaki Kushina the Yodnaime Hokage's wife as she was also pregnant and they spent their time together when their husbands' got late in work, but Kushina was only 7 months pregnant._

 _Her thoughts wandered to her annoyingly lazy-ass husband and father to her soon to be born son. One of Shikaku's annoying quirks was that like most Nara males he always had either a bored or passive expression on his face, Hell even when he's angry it's always in a passive aggressive way and only something of the biggest caliber can actually make him snap to show true rage and when he's happy or content it's one his lazy smiles that she infuriatingly loves. Although the day she told him she was pregnant, his face practically glowed in a light that she has not seen in a long time and he hesitantly asked her if she was sure. After she confirmed it, his face broke a full-blown smile and he did something that still shocks her to this instant._

 _He ran up to her in full speed, hugged her like his life depended on it then started swinging her around in a circle while laughing uproariously in joy. It has been a few years since Yoshino saw her husband laugh like this and to say that it warmed her heart to the core was an understatement. After a certain mission years ago that got shitty her husband boyfriend at that time became a different man, it became less frequent for her to see him genuinely happy and it became much more frequent for him to have nightmares and drink sake or other alcoholic beverages especially after he was promoted to the position of the Jounin Commander._

 _For years now she has been his rock and safe haven, he always came to her to lay his heart out and entrusted her with his dreams, deepest sorrows and fears and in return she shed her armor for him and let the true gentleness and kindness of her soul to seep out and envelope him especially when the ghosts of his previous comrades who died on missions that he were part of or ordered started haunting him and drowning him in an endless pit of despair only for her to pull him out._

 _She was snapped out of her musing by the sound the house's door opening and her husband entering. She continued humming as her husband entered the kitchen and hugged her from behind, his hand stopping above her own over her stomach and kissing her affectionately on the neck. "Hello beautiful" said Shikaku with a voice full of love and then asked "How's the little one doing?". "He haven't made a single move all day, but I guess that is expected after all he is your son, he's bound to be as lazy as you are" said Yoshino with false exasperation and eyes full of mischief._

 _Shikaku laughed then bent down so he was facing her stomach and said "Well son personally I can't wait to have my first shogi game and forest stroll with you". "There is no chance in hell am I allowing you to pollute our son with your laziness and shogi games, he'll become a shinobi feared across the elemental nations and he's going to protect our village and make the Nara clan rise to new heights". "Well there's one thing I'm sure of I hope he doesn't inherit your temper an" he was suddenly interrupted by a kitchen knife striking the wall beside him just a millimeter from his head and his wife furious eyes glaring a thousand deaths at him with a hand full of kitchen knives which made him do the only thing any man with common sense would do. "Okay shutting up now" he said with his hands raised in a placating manner and backing up slowly from the kitchen and Yoshino's only response was to huff in irritation and mutter a quiet "Ass"._

 _Yoshino continued washing the dishes while her husband got a bottle of sake from the cupboard and sat down in the living room to have a swig. As the bottle was mere centimeters from his mouth the sound of breaking glass and his wife's pained yelp caused him to become fully alert so he rushed into the kitchen ready for the worst and saw his clutching her stomach while her eyes were closed from the pain with water dripping down her legs. He ran up to her and helped her to stand properly, she weakly opened her eyes and said "Shikaku my water just broke our son is coming". Her husband's face conveyed shock and panic at the news and then suddenly she found herself lifted off the ground and being carried bridal style by her husband. She involuntarily blushed, wrapped her arms around his neck and grumbled "I can still walk you know" "Not taking any chances"._

 _Her husband wore his sandals and used the_ **"Shunshin"** _to teleport to Konoha's hospital, then he rushed to the counter telling the nurse that his wife just entered labor so the nurse told him to lay his wife on a stretcher and a doctor and a few nurses came and took his wife to put her in a room. The next few hours were pure hell for Yoshino as she continued to have cramps and contradictions until the doctor deemed her ready to give birth. She had Shikaku with her in the room when he told her to take deep breaths and then to push, in that the pain was almost unimaginable and all she could do was to push and hold onto her husband's hand while he was soothing her and trying to ignore his own agony from his hand being crushed by her grip. They stayed like that for at least 20 minutes until she pushed one final push with a shout of desperation that was silenced with the sound of crying._

" _Congratulations, it's a boy" it took a second for the declaration to sink in and then Yoshino smiled a smile that was as radiant as the sun as the doctor gave her son to the nurses to wash him so she finally let sweet unconsciousness develop her as the weight of labor caught up with her. She woke up an hour later in a hospital room with her husband sitting in a chair next to her. "Morning you troublesome sleeping beauty" she groggily rolled her eyes while grumbling and then the nurse entered while holding a bundle in her arms "Mr. and Mrs. Nara would you like to see your son". Both of them just nodded wordlessly as the nurse moved to stand beside the bed and bended to hand Yoshino her son._

 _Yoshino hesitantly reached for her son, took him from the nurse and she was greeted by the most perfect creature, in her arms was her son sleeping peacefully in his bundle. This was her son, this was the testimony of the love she and Shikaku had, and this peaceful being was the product of everything they shared: their love, dreams, hopes, expectations and lots more. She couldn't resist the urge anymore and tears of joy started to fall from her eyes as she laughed, unfortunately her laughing caused her son to wake up and suddenly she found two orbs of pure brown staring up at her._

 _Gazing into these orbs of her son Yoshino found herself in what looked to be a battlefield and saw a story unfold right before her eyes. She saw the story of a culture that was shrouded in darkness and disarray, she saw warriors lose their will to fight and bow down to a terror like no other, she saw the human race turn into nothing but pawns and hollowed husks who lived in illusions and fantasies, earth's mightiest heroes fall down one by one. When it looked like all was lost, a light like no other shone down on the battlefield and out of the light emerged a man shrouded in shadows. His shadow morphed into a strange entity and suddenly she found herself subjected to its piercing gaze, she unconsciously flinched when its voice rang in her ears._

" **A Dark Demon or a Guardian of the Light? Which of these two names will you believe once this shinobi who walks shadows clad in an armor as black as night, will stand before you? A "Demon" as he fought lethal yet brutal to those who opposes him. A "Guardian" as he will rise to fight for those who couldn't" "His battles are short as he could finish his opponent in a blink….and in others, all his enemies have already fallen" "A staff is held firm to protect, flashes like the moon to those who's against him. But once he draws the blade of the shadows….eternal darkness awaits….as your days are over" "Before he leaves, the last will be seen are his eyes that ignite bright crimson to judge death or deep blue to honor life" "And just like the shadows, he too vanishes but when the moon shines its brightest, this heavenly light will show a glimpse of who he is. For what stands behind him is his soul…..his shadow, but not of a man, but something…..something worthy of both fear and respect".** _Then, both man and beast conjured swords and with a shout charged at the monster._

 _With a jerk she was back in the hospital room heaving for air as if she was running a marathon and was still staring at her son as he was trying to go to sleep. She felt a strong arm hug her shoulder and found her husband looking at her in worry. She turned her gaze towards her son and in that moment she knew he was destined for things greater than anything she and her husband could have imagined and she vowed that she will protect him and guide along the way in his life. "Looks like we'll be having a very interesting life" she told her husband who looked at her quizzically._

 _Flashback ends_

Yoshino just kept hugging her son and muttering apologies as Shikamaru was hugging her and patting her back awkwardly. This was a first for him and he didn't know what to do so he sent a pleading look to his father for help. Shikaku was standing quite comfortably enjoying his son's position until he decided to take pity on him and tenderly patted his wife on the back telling her "The important thing is that he is okay and shikamaru go rest in your room, you look like you had quite the day" He said noticing the bandage on his son's head. Yoshino quietly released her son and smiled at him "Have some rest son and when you wake up, I'll make us all a meal and some tea and you can tell us what happened". Shikamaru smiled appreciating and muttered a quiet "Thanks guys" before climbing upstairs and soundly collapsing onto his bed with his last thoughts about his parents and his meeting Orochi-san.

 **...**

 **This is the end of the third chapter. Sorry for the long wait, but I recently returned to school and it's been a bitch trying to find time to write and I will do all I can to write more often. This chapter mostly focuses on shikamaru's relationship with his parents and one of the true reasons for Yoshino's constant nagging. Thank you for reading and see you soon.**


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